Jury Finds Clayton Woman Guilty Of State Tax Charges

Date:
September 10, 2007

RALEIGH – A Clayton woman was found guilty Friday in Wake County Superior Court of felony tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Hilda Adams Barnes, 56, of 1537 Barber Mill Road, Clayton was found guilty in a jury trial on Sept. 7, 2007 to 34 counts of aiding or assisting in the preparation of fraudulent income tax returns and two counts of attempting to evade or defeat the state’s individual income tax.

Wake County Superior Court Judge W. O. Smith, III ordered Barnes to undergo a pre-sentence commitment study and deferred her sentencing until the study is completed. Barnes was immediately taken into custody by the Wake County Sheriff’s Department.

The state’s evidence showed that Barnes was a paid tax preparer and completed both original and amended North Carolina individual income tax returns for clients that she knew were false. Barnes intentionally claimed Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from her clients’ wages as deductions on their tax returns even though the Department of Revenue and Internal Revenue Service had repeatedly advised her that these were not allowable deductions. She also claimed the deductions on returns she filed for herself. Barnes told several of her clients that she had worked for the Internal Revenue Service and the North Carolina Department of Revenue, although she had never worked for either agency.

The charges against Barnes resulted from an investigation by the Department of Revenue’s Discovery and Special Projects Unit and a special agent with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division.